The Darkness Ticks Away
by Julchen M. Liddell
Summary: OC submission fic. A school is suddenly attacked by a malevolent group of spirits known only as the 'Guardians'. The students must band together and work their way through the school, defeating the Guardians as they go so they can get free, but they might not all make it out alive... Dark!Guardians. Rated for blood and death, may go up to M. Submissions closed.
1. Introduction and Submission Form

Once upon a time, there was a school.

It was ordinary enough, at least by its own standards. Called St. Lunar's Preparatory Academy, it lay on the outskirts of Burgess, Pennsylvania and schooled advanced scholarship students and children of affluent families. Burgess wasn't exactly the sort of place one would expect such a school to be, but there it was.

St. Lunar's Preparatory Academy was large: five stories on the main building and three other wings besides. There were dorms for students from out of town and classes and teams for nearly anything, be it music or art or any kind of sport. If a child, anywhere from the ages eleven to eighteen, could attend, they were almost guaranteed to be set for any college they might want to apply for in the future. The academy was highly regarded, to say the least.

It had advanced security and plenty of exits in the case of an emergency. However, they weren't expecting an emergency like this.

One day, the week before Easter, a very strange emergency came down...

* * *

**Okay, so let me explain myself. My other stories are stressing me out right now (school started, I'm job-hunting, can't deal with all that, etc.) so I'm taking unannounced time off. This is going to be some weirdng/relaxation technique for me. **

**HOWEVER.**

**This **_**is **_**a horror story, because I love that kind of stuff and haven't written nearly enough of it. **_**Characters will die. **_**The Guardians are **_**not **_**nice in this story and that's going to be obvious. I've been wanting to write an OC Submission for a while and this was just the best idea I had to do it. It's also an experiment for me, to see how well I can perform handling other people's characters in a situation such as this. **

**If this sort of thing isn't your cup of tea, then that's too bad for both of us. If you are cool with me taking your character and possibly killing them off, then great! **

**Fill out the form below and ****PM me****. Submissions via reviews will be considered, but you have a better chance if you message me. ****Submissions will be open until the twelfth of September, this coming Thursday, possibly earlier or later depending on what's needed.**

* * *

**Character form:**

**Name: **(Include surnames and potential nicknames.)

**Age:**

**Gender: **

**Appearance: **(Hair color and style, eye color, height, weight, body type, facial features, etc.)

**Nationality/Ethnicity: **

**Personality: **(Make it detailed, please; I can't very well write a story with only a few lines of characterization, can I?)

**Hobbies/Talents:**

**Fears:**

**Strengths:**

**Flaws: **

**Past/Backstory: **(Nothing too horribly dark and angsty; that's what the story's about. Try to keep it normal for the most part, but remember this is a rich-kid school they're going to.)

**Family: **(Parents, siblings, whatnot.)

**Are you okay with pairings? There likely won't be any canon/OC, but what about OC/OC?**

**Is there anything for the story you'd like to have involve your character? Plot ideas? Requests? If your character is killed off early on, will you be horribly offended? Not ALL will die, but, ya know...**

**I think that's all. I look forward to see if anyone's interested!**


	2. Accepted Characters

**My job selecting the OCs has been long and hard and I am very tired. Some made it in more than once. Be aware that I said that was not impossible, and they did submit good ones. There's another form at the bottom for those selected to fill out. **

**I got extremely lazy whilst typing out the summaries, but this ought to give everyone the gist of it.**

* * *

**Carter Ellington - Boba Addict**

**Age: **15

**Gender: **Male

**Appearance: **Blonde hair that's swept to one side, green eyes, around 5'6", 128 pounds, body type idk, has a beauty mark underneath his right eye.

**Nationality: **Came to America from England when he was two.

God, what a dick. Sorry April, but it's true. He's snooty and spoiled and one of those pompous guys you want to punch in the face. Though haughty and condescending, he secretly does want to make a friend but is literally just that socially awkward. Hates cockroaches and dirty things.

* * *

**Zoe Nicola Shandon - Book girl fan**

**Age: **16

**Gender: **female.

**Appearance: **Petite, short black hair, blue eyes.

**Nationality/Ethnicity: **New Zealand

Friendly and bubbly, but a bit blunt and forward and that kind of puts people off at first. Big science nerd, nicknamed 'Protazoa' in class because reasons. Not particularly brave, but calm-thinking in a crisis. Her father died in a car accident when she was five and she and her mother moved to America as a new start, and now she has a stepfather and stepbrother.

* * *

**Tuesday Masterson - Showtunes4life**

**Age: **16

**Gender: **Male

**Appearance: **Blond hair, cut in a messy Zac-Efron-HSM3-style, blue–grey eyes. Medium-sized in height, about 140 lbs and skinny. Wears rectangular glasses.

**Nationality/Ethnicity: **White. British, moved to America.

Nice enough, but shy and socially awkward. He can be forgetful, like neglecting to put on socks. Not good at public speaking and can play the kazoo. His parents are divorced because his father's an alcoholic, and he has a twin brother named Thursday.

* * *

**Naima Korra Starr - This-Is-What-I-Am-Now**

**Age: **16

**Gender: **Female

**Appearance: **Dirty blonde hair with a high ponytail tied back with a dark green ribbon, bangs in her face, really curly. Hazel eyes. 5'8", 120 lbs.

**Nationality/Ethnicity: **A variety of many things.

Energetic and outgoing, she loves meeting new people but kind of forgets personal boundaries for a moment. Is good at lots of things I don't care about. Has the ultimate Sue fear of being invisible and insignificant. Also spiders. One of her listed strengths is that she's beautiful, but she can be a bit vain about it.

* * *

**Dustin Miller - KokoLolo**

**Age: **16

**Gender: **Male

**Nationality/Ethnicity: **Caucasian American

**Appearance: **So he's about 5'5, and done growing. However, he's convinced that he'll grow taller. Dirty blond hair that is cut short which he styles the front of it. Brown eyes.

Likes sports but ohmygod he's such a dork. He fails hard with girls. Fears being alone. When all this creepy shit goes down, he is fucking done. He made onto the varsity football team, thus strong, but not as strong as the stereotypical football player.

* * *

**Catherine Irma Martinez - CelticGirl7**

**Age: **17

**Gender: **Female

**Appearance: **Has a bit thick dark brown hair that has faint red highlights in the sun, which goes down almost halfway down her back. Her bangs, which frame her face and goes a bit in front of her eyes, goes a few inches down from her chin. Eyes are dark brown and slightly almond shaped; wears glasses. Skin is slightly tanned and has triangle body type. Is 5'0".

**Nationality/Ethnicity: **Hispanic American, or Peruvian Guatemalan American.

Outgoing and likes being a drama queen, but basically just enjoys joking around and being playfully sarcastic. Her mind wanders and she does not like swearing. Likes reading and writing and often reacts with unintentional violence to surprises. She's a nice religious girl who prays before eating and all that.

* * *

**Calla "Lily" Gertrude Rivera - Silver-09**

**Age: **16 years old

**Gender: **Female

**Appearance: **Curled and wavy dark brown hair and dark blue eyes. 5' 8''. 94 lbs. Petite, slightly muscular. Freckles on nose.

The spoilt eldest sibling. A girly-girl who likes fashion design and clothes. Headstrong and quick to anger, but a good judge of character. Does not let anyone call her Lily. Basically, the bratty teenage daughter, I think.

* * *

**Cecile "Sissy" Morgan - honeybear1200**

**Age: **16

**Gender: **Female

**Appearance: **White skin, Green eyes, chin length black hair with no bangs, slender but by no means a toothpick, height 5'8"

Cold, emotionless, and apathetic, but with a strong sense of justice, especially towards children. Really likes snakes and reptiles in general. Rather judgmental but a calm and rational thinker.

* * *

**Nicole Emmonds - Awena-Sachi**

**Age: **15

**Gender: **Female

**Appearance: **Shoulder-length black hair sometimes seen in a ponytail, blue eyes, dark olive skin, 5'5, 145 lbs., has an athletic build, high cheekbones, thin lips, etc.

**Nationality/Ethnicity: **Nicole is American, but she has a multi-ethnic background. Her mother is of Mexican and African American descent, and her father is of English and Japanese descent. She is basically a mix of everything.

Witty, cunning, and very observant. Kick-boxes. Has a cool attitude and can aptly be described as a wallflower. Good at settling disagreements, but has a sort of "every man for himself" look on life. Level-headed, afraid of being bullied (for various reasons, multi-ethnicity being one) and drowning.

* * *

**Matt Jarrah - Scriptor Sapiens**

**Age: **17

**Gender: **Male

**Appearance: **Black hair in a long(ish) crew cut. Pale skin. Amethyst eyes. About 6' or 6'1. He is lean, but muscular enough to be noticed in a crowd. He has heavy brows, high, wide cheekbones, and his nose has a slight upturn on the end.

**Nationality/Ethnicity: **He is white, but was adopted by a Middle-Eastern family.

Confident and tries to be understanding, but hates to lose at whatever he's doing. Pretty strategic, but not at thinking quickly in a crisis. Suspicious of everyone in this situation, understandably, and has a _thing_ for bad girls. Can sometimes fly into a blind rage if his friends are inevitably killed off.

* * *

**Chastity "Chassis" Rourke - Kagirinai-Eternal**

**Age: **17

**Gender: **Female

**Appearance: **Brown hair with mid-level curls that falls to just below her shoulder blades, hazel eyes that favor green over brown, 5'5" when she wears her boots with a heel, 120-135 lbs. (she's pretty fit, but has a bit of pudge here and there), multiple ear piercings…definite biker/badass mechanic look.

**Nationality/Ethnicity: **Caucasian, possibly with some faint Native American influence

Grumpy and quick-tempered and doesn't think before she speaks. A bit paranoid about people leaving her, which is why she's so abrasive (sparing herself the inevitable heartbreak). Doesn't particularly care if she hurts people with her words. Peaceful and content deep, deep down. Loyal once you get to that point. Can be a bit reckless. A true bad girl.

* * *

**Kay (no last name as of yet) - Scriptor Sapiens**

**Age: **16

**Gender: **Male

**Nationality/Ethnicity: **American.

Appearance: Kay is EXTREMELY muscular for his age, think body-builder sized, and seems to have a compulsion to do all things sport-y. He has olive skin, green eyes, and dark-brown hair with bangs that just reach his brows. He has a low forehead, heavy brows, deep-set eyes, and otherwise strong, heavy features. He is probably about 6 foot even.

He's very social and outgoing, loving sports and the ladies. Trusts easily and acts impulsively, causing him to often be manipulated for his kindness. Child-minded, but in the sort of way he'll cry alone in his room over things. Has a twin sister, Mariah, whom he loves to death and enjoys bragging about.

* * *

**Isabella Kai - **The Shuiro Amaya

**Age: **13 1/2

**Gender: **Female

**Appearance: **She originally had black waist length hair, but tried to dye it purple in order to emulate a past memory of a friend. As probably expected, it didn't work, and all that changed is the fact that her hair shines dark violet in the sun. One chin length lock of hair constantly falls in front of her face. Her eyes are green. Isabella is short, very short for her age, but she's only slightly under average weight, and can be considered somewhat slim. She has doll like features that would look classically beautiful if only they weren't contorted into a sugar-high grin 24/7.

**Nationality/Ethnicity: **She's American with a Chinese father.

A very childish girl who likes randomly wearing bunny ears. Tries to always be positive even in negative situations, and remains cheery through pretty much everything. Has the occasional inspirational moment. Likes picking things apart and occasionally setting things on fire. She's...special. Life is like a game to her.

* * *

**Jacob Tulley - Book girl fan**

**Age: **17

**Gender: **Male

**Appearance: **Jaw length brown hair, blue eyes, near permanent scowl, tall, but usually slouches, unless he's trying to look intimidating. Often wears a leather jacket with jeans.

**Nationality/Ethnicity: **American.

Pessimisstic and temperamental, but has a soft spot for girls younger and smaller than him. He's happy being a wood-carving loner, but is actually rather courageous and can stand up to anyone if he feels he's up to it. Adores his little sister and doesn't like to admit his small fear of the dark.

* * *

**Midnight "Middy" Sable Braith - TheDragonLover**

**Age: **18

**Gender: **Female

**Appearance: **Wavy black hair that reaches past her shoulder blades; hazel eyes (brown around pupil, blends into green); 5'10"; average 140lbs; willowy figure (a definition I've found for "willowy" is "tall, slender, and graceful"); no outstanding facial features.

**Nationality/Ethnicity: **American, has Welsh and English ancestors.

"Middy" is soft-spoken and has trouble making close friends. Studies hard but is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, though this does not make her stupid. It makes her like Julia. Hopes everyone around her will get along and tries to be friendly. Thinks aloud a lot but doesn't share much about herself. Good at cooking and mildly paranoid about pretty much everything that could scare a person.

* * *

**Emma Phillips - Qwerty124**

**Age: **14

**Gender: **Female

**Appearance: **Long blonde straight hair, brown eyes, a little over 5 ft., about 120 lbs., in great shape with good figure, tan, angular features.

**Nationality/Ethnicity: **White

Fun with a good sense of humor, she is snarky and flirty when she feels like it. Brave and very protective of her friends. Used to cut, to get attention from her uncaring parents, and one of her fears is that someone will find out about that. She is secretly insecure as a result.

* * *

**And that's it! Congrats to all who made it in, you have done your country proud. To all those who aren't on the list, there is a good chance your character WILL show up as a cameo and/or random dead body.**

**To the victors: Please tell me how your character would interact or percieve the others. This is so I can more easily write their interactions, if I know HOW they could possibly interact.**

CARTER ELLINGTON-

ZOE NICOLA SHANDON-

TUESDAY MATERSON-

NAIMA KORRA STAR-

DUSTIN MILLER-

CATHERINE IRMA MARTINEZ-

CALLA GERTRUDE RIVERA-

CECILE MORGAN-

NICOLE EMMONDS-

MATT JARRAH-

CHASTITY ROURKE-

KAY NOLASTNAME-

ISABELLA KAI-

MIDNIGHT SABLE BRAITH-

EMMA PHILLIPS-

**Also, if you're up for pairings, let me know if any other characters appeal to your own.**

**Feel free to either message the responses to me or send them in the reviews, I don't care anymore.**


	3. Chapter 3

_ "What are you waiting for?" _A voice asked the shadowy figure, twining around the figure's frame and hissing in it's ear. _"This day is what you summoned us for."_

"I know...I know...!"

_"Then let's hurry!" _another voice, this one decidedly female, joined in. _"You want to hurt the people who hurt you, right?_

"Y-yeah..."

_ "We'll do it for you," _a teenage boy consoled, draping a dark arm over the figure's shoulder. _"You won't be hurt by them again, not after we're through. You can be happy."_

_ "C'mon mate," _another said. _"Don't tell us you're backin' out now. If we don't do it now, at the perfect opportunity, you'll keep getting hurt because a' _them_!"_

_ "Why are you hesitating?" _the female voice asked. _"The people here have never done anything for you. They hurt and demean you. That's not something that should happen to a child." _Her shadow leaned in, cupping the figure's obscured face in her hands. _"Let us take care of you."_

_ "We'll help you."_

_ "We'll give 'em what they're due."_

_ "Just say the word. Now...now!"_

The figure cleared it's throat nervously. "You're right...okay. Let's do it. Go."

* * *

Naima Starr stretched as she walked into her first period, yawning widely as she went. School, in her opinion, began far to early. A glance out the window showed her a cloudy, dreary November morning, and she grimaced. Naima preferred sunny weather, and though it was getting a bit too late in the year for that, she couldn't help but already begin longing for summer and warmer temperatures.

Her first class, Biology, was on the second floor of the main St. Lunar building. She was pleased to note as she walked in that her friend and lab partner, Zoe Shandon, was already sitting out with her books out. Naturally. Naima grinned; Zoe was nuts about science, even more than herself!

"Mooorning," she drawled, slipping into place beside the smaller, dark-haired girl. "How was your weekend?"

Zoe frowned and tugged one of Naima's loose blonde curls back into her ponytail before answering in her thick New Zealand accent, "It was alright. Mum and I went to see a documentary on bees at the theatre."

"Oh yeah? How was that?"

"There was a man shown who let bees climb all over his face! Like a beard!" Zoe shuddered delicately. "I love them and all that, but I don't know if I could let them get all over me like that. How was your weekend, by the way?"

Naima grimaced. "I feel you. Anyway, I went to visit my mom too. A couple of my brothers were home also, and them combined with my younger siblings made it kinda nuts."

"How many siblings do you have again?"

"_Eleven_." Naima sighed dramatically. "Your bees are my siblings. Love 'em, but keep them away from me in large numbers."

The two laughed together as more of their classmates filed into the room. Spotting a friend, Naima waved her arm over her head and called, "Dustin! Long time no see!"

A rather small, blond-haired boy waved back and replied, "Just a weekend, chill out!" before taking his seat a few desks in front of them. Naima stuck her tongue out at his back.

"Whatever," she sniffed.

"Short people don't have any sense of humor," Zoe said, loudly enough for Dustin to hear. He tensed and whirled around.

"Yo, Shandon, I'm not done growing! Just you wait! Besides, you're not any taller than I am!"

"Whatever you say, _Miller_." Zoe waved a hand dismissively and returned her attention back to the biology book she'd been reading when Naima walked in. Dustin rolled his eyes and turned his back on the two girls once more.

The class sat chatting for a few more minutes before the final bell rang, and their teacher hurried in looking hassled and a bit damp. He apologized for being late (the rain that had just begun to fall was his excuse) and began the lesson. Still tired, Naima yawned and gazed out the window, but Zoe paid rapt attention and her hand flew over her notebook with professional note-taking precision.

The quiet atmosphere, punctuated only by the biology teacher's lecture, was suddenly interrupted by another student slamming the door open, soaking wet and out of breath.

"S-Sorry!" he gasped, face red as he took in all the eyes staring at him. Naima raised her eyebrows. He was round-faced, small and skinny, with brown hair and eyes. Nothing really special; she was pretty sure she'd heard his name somewhere, but evidently hadn't thought it was important enough information to file away. "My mom's car wouldn't start, and we had to take my sister to school once it did, so..."

"Right," the teacher sighed, glancing down at the attendance sheet. "What's your name?"

"J-Jamie. Jamie Bennett."

"Lucky for you I forgot to take roll this morning. Go to your seat and see if you can catch up on notes from someone."

Jamie (_that _was his name!) nodded and headed towards the back of the room, slipping on his own dripping puddle of rainwater halfway down the aisle. A light tittering of laughter ran through the room, source unidentified. As he passed Naima and Zoe's desk, Zoe leaned over to her friend and muttered, "If you're going to be late and disrupt everything, why even bother coming at all?"

Naima snorted. "He's gonna catch pneumonia or something."

"That'd teach him a lesson, at least."

The blonde girl rolled her eyes, caught Dustin's gaze, and grinned. While the teacher was distracted he tore a sheet out of his notebook, scribbled something on it, and tossed it back to Naima. She caught it easily and unfolded it as quietly as she could.

_ That's that one weird kid, remember? The one who's always going on about fairies and Bigfoot and stuff like that. He doesn't usually show up for class though._

Oh. Well if Jamie never showed up, for whatever reason, it made sense that Naima hadn't bothered to remember his name. Why waste the courtesy for someone she'd never see anyway, right? Now that Dustin'd brought it up, though, she did remember him, vaguely. He brought books full of UFO sightings, conspiracy theories, and fairy tales to class even though everyone around him, himself included, was fifteen or sixteen.

Naima shrugged, wrote _Whatever, can't judge for hobbies I guess _on the back of the paper, and tossed it back just as their teacher turned back around. She folded her hands in front of her, the picture of innocence, but stole a look back at Jamie. His head was down and his hands were running through his messy, sopping hair. He looked so despondent that Naima felt a twinge of guilt for passing notes about him behind his back, and resolved that after class she'd catch up to him and apologize for the class' laughter and her own behavior.

"Alright, now that we've got that out of the way and the attendance office won't be breathing down my neck all day, let's get started on-"

He was interrupted again, but rather than another late student rushing through the door, the interruption came in the form of a loud _bang!_

"What the-"

The school shook violently, the lights swinging and flickering. Zoe shrieked, along with the majority of the class, and Naima instinctively threw her arms over her friend just as everything went black.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Not the longest first chapter, but I needed to get an introduction up here. The characters will be introduced gradually, as things would just be rushed and sloppy if I tried to cram them all in at once.**

**Also, hey, if you're one of the accepted people, I'd appreciate it if you could review every chapter or every other chapter, just so I know you really are interested and following beyond the fact that your character's in it. Even if they get killed off, because you never know, they could show up again...**

**Characters introduced thus far:**

**Naima Korra Starr**

**Zoe Nicole Shandon**

**Dustin Miller**


End file.
